Private TV stations are capable of irony! Feelgood channel Sat1 follows its endorsement of "More Love" with an ad break "Do you have problems with your digestion?" for a laxative...
Gute Nacht, good night and good-bye to winter.

Already, it seems like a dream, all that light and sun and sparkle...But our snowy light, that white and blue glare, is not without its charm, either. Only two more months, as my friend S. says with a little bit of Schadenfreude.

Tomorrow my sister and I are flying to Lisbon, for a short long weekend. While I am sitting here working, there is a tempestuous wind - I think you could actually call it a storm - rattling my house. I am not a very happy flyer at the best of times, but wind is enough to put me off! I can only hope it plays itself out by tomorrow. Such a scaredy-cat - I would just stay put, but luckily I travel with people who are fearless. To make it even more sub-ideal, I now have a stinking cold...oh goddesses and and guardian angels...But this time tomorrow I will be in a rented car travelling through gorgeous Portuguese countryside, sneezing. Who cares if it rains if the temperature is around 15C.

Here is one from West London with Trellick Tower in the background (thanks Debbie)

This just came in from N7 ( thanks Tony!)Ich liebe es! England versinkt im Schnee, und das zweite was der Guardian berichtet ist, dass die Wettbüros jetzt 6:1 wetten dass 2009 der kälteste Winter ist den das Land erlebt hat.
Ich erinnere mich an einen Schneewinter in London in den 80ern, als wir auf Plastiksäcken (Schlitten hatten wir nicht, weil es ja praktisch nie schneite) die Straße herunterrutschten.http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/blog/2009/feb/02/snowDave in NW3, some time mid-80s
I loved reading in today's Guardian that "bookmakers have cut odds against 2009 being the coldest winter on record from 12-1 to 8-1" and Rupert Adams of William Hill saying: "Punters seem to be confidently optimistic about that and we have odds of as low as 6-1 on temperatures topping 100F." Robert Hutchison of Ladbrokes said bets had started coming in that the Thames would freeze, with odds at 80-1. …